When a medium like games or comic books whips up such a rapture of enthusiasm, naturally we look for lessons we should be learning.

A very great deal is written about the future of book publishing - much more than on its present or past - and the only takeaway from all these oracles seems to be that a great empire will be destroyed.

Back in the early 1970s, what got me and another 400,000 kids out of bed without needing to be called twice was the latest issue of The Amazing Spider-Man.

My first memory of the public library is of lugging home a volume of Norse myths as heavy as a thunder-god's hammer.

My family keeps me sane. I try to talk to my mum every other day. After I get off the phone, I have a renewed sense of clarity, so I guess a problem shared is a problem lost. It's important to me to keep them close.

There's a strong working-class work ethic in my family, which makes us strong.

We know that if you educate a girl, as the saying goes, you educate a nation. That girl will get married later, she will have fewer children, she's more likely to earn an income, and that income is more likely to be plowed back into the family so that the family benefits.

Even though education was key in my family, I had no access to museums or art where we lived. I was a bit starved.